7 Gourmet Not-Your-Traditional Mexican Tacos in NYC

Flavored with a squirt of lime and a colorful array of Mexican spices and garnishes, tacos, crunchy or soft, are what Taco Tuesdays are made of. But these aren’t your traditional tacos al pastor. Indulging the city’s taco epicureans, Mexican (and other) eateries in Manhattan are filling tortillas with gourmet ingredients, like oxtail, peking duck foie gras, and cow tongue, that you wouldn’t see on the average taco menu.

A taco is only as good as its tortilla, whether it be flour- or corn-based. That’s why many restaurants in New York City source exceptional, quality tortillas locally; others, such as Tacombi, make theirs, in-house, from scratch. Via an intricate, four-step process, corn kernels (sourced from small, sustainable farms in Mexico) after they are cooked, are first soaked for 12 hours in calcium hydroxide, which breaks down the kernels and releases flavor. Next, they are ground up and transferred to a mixing machine that gently kneads the dough. The dough is then hand-fed into a machine, where it is pressed and cut into circles. And finally, it is cooked into perfect taco tortillas.

Of course, they wouldn’t be tacos without the zesty complement of a lime wedge and a side of tortilla chips and guacamole.